


When the Moon Shines

by stopmopingstarthoping



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Allies To Lovers, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Duty, F/M, Fluff, Post-Canon, Requited Love, World of Ruin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 07:23:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17039333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stopmopingstarthoping/pseuds/stopmopingstarthoping
Summary: In his few hard-fought moments to reflect on those he once knew, Gladio wonders if the rumors that the Oracle survived the events of Altissia could possibly be true.





	When the Moon Shines

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Xylianna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xylianna/gifts).



He’d heard the rumors, but he didn’t think they could be true. He’d been there; he’d seen how it went down in Altissia. He’d seen Ravus grieve. But still, the rumors persisted.

Rumors that the Oracle was still out there. It was impossible. Still, he thought about it sometimes. When he listened to the various rumors drifting across pirated radio waves, when he got a rare call from Prompto or Ignis to help with a hunt, Gladio wondered.

If the woman who had battled Leviathan and survived, who’d traveled Lucis healing the Scourged and survived . . . if maybe she could have survived the fury of Niflheim’s chancellor as well.

How, hell, he didn’t know. He’d seen her on the altar, and it made his throat swell up just to think about it. But he’d seen Noct lying there, and Ignis too. And _they_ had somehow survived.

He pushed the thought to a very back corner of his mind. He needed his focus for fighting, struggling, hitting things with his fists and his sword as hard as he could in the hope that he could set at least something right. Since he couldn’t bring Noct back. The futility of it was stifling; drove him to fist-clenching tears some lonely nights. Other nights, it was a relief to have something to tear apart.

Mostly, he drove around in the battered old truck Cindy had helped him repair, looking for a fight. Having nothing to think about but survival was freeing; tiring himself out enough to sleep instantly was a gift. He ran into other hunters here and there, acknowledging them with a nod and a grunt; maybe occasionally an exchange of scavenged materials they both needed.

Usually, though, Gladio was alone. He preferred it that way. Well, if he thought about it, what he’d prefer is for none of this to ever have happened. To be reading in the back seat, wind whipping through his hair, while Prompto and Ignis talked about their next destination and Noct napped next to him.

But given that those days were gone and ground into dust, alone was the best he could get.

Leide, the middle of nowhere. Longwythe, to be specific. A teeming mass of goblins, which Gladio scoffed at as barely noticeable, but then two red giants rose out of the ground and he grinned like they were welcome guests. Finally, something worth his time. He swung his sword over his shoulder and let out a low growl as he ran toward them.

He almost missed the woman to his left, feet planted in a determined stance. He did miss her, actually, until a bolt of lightning cracked into one of the red giants from the back. He heard a yell and then saw a flash of blonde hair as she leaped clear of the swing of a giant, molten sword.

Gladio shrugged. Two on two was better than one on two, as long as this person was actually useful. They worked well together, and disposed of the enemies neatly. And then he finally stood back for a moment to really look at his comrade-in-arms.

He was unused to seeing her in anything but the formal dress of the Oracle, but she was somehow more fierce, more regal, in her thick coat and hunter’s pants, a scarf around her neck against the constant miasma. The pale gold of her hair caught the artificial lights almost like true moonlight, and Gladio watched it shimmer briefly before collecting himself.

“Lunafreya.”

“Gladiolus.”

They were oddly formal with one another, and Gladio knew his jaw was hanging open in disbelief. He closed it, thought for a few, painful moments and realized what had to be done. He dropped to one knee and bowed his head. “True Queen of Lucis, Oracle of the Six, Forger of Covenants, called on by the Divine Host of Messengers. Please accept my oath. Until the end of my days or - until the King returns - I will be sworn to protect you; to be your Shield.”

Unsurprising, that the responsive words leapt to her tongue in an elegant echo. Her hands touched his shoulders. “Amicitia; long is your line; strong is your shield. May the Trident serve you as your might protects me. Rise, noble Shield, and serve. May you always have warmth by my fire and bread at my table.” He rose, and they shared a long look. It hurt; Noct had spoken nearly those exact words to him once - and hearing them again was a sharp reminder of his absence. Luna's eyes told Gladio that she understood all this and more.

A mischievous grin teased around Luna’s lips, breaking the somber mood. “My fire, such as it is, noble Gladiolus.” She led him over to a metal trash can holding a small but warm fire, and a twin pair of cans of beans. “And the bounty of my hearth.” She giggled.

“It’s - good to see you again, Luna.” Gladio reached out, a little stiffly, to clasp her hand, but she dodged his large forearm and dove forward to clasp his waist in a hug. Startled for a moment, he closed his arms slowly over her as she hugged him for a long, long moment, before letting out a big exhale that wavered a little.

“It’s hard to be alone out here.” Her voice was muffled in his chest, but even so Gladio could hear the deep emotion. She was right, of course, but Gladio thought to himself that it was just as hard - perhaps harder - to see the others. To watch Prompto try to pull the thinly stretched edges of himself together without Noct, watch Ignis grind himself into a pulp and fail to sleep over the guilt of failure. It was too close; they’d been through too much together. He couldn’t face them.

And yet this small, strong blonde woman in his arms brought no regret, no reprimand, no guilt, despite the fact that she was another string that tied him back to Noct. Only a firm friendship and a certain amount of peace - the most he’d felt since the sun went out. He wondered if it was her Oracle’s magic, or something else.

* * *

“What about your brother?” Gladio posed the question almost casually as they crouched next to another fire - this one set over the runes that she’d struggled to relight. “He can’t be real excited about you fighting alone. Wasn’t he always kind of …”

Luna smiled sadly. “I think the word you’re looking for is ‘overprotective,’ and that’s still true, in his way. Ravus continues to undertake death-wish missions to infiltrate what’s left of the Empire. He refuses to let me anywhere near it. He says it’s too dangerous. I do hear from him regularly but - I worry.” She laid her head against his shoulder, and Gladio looked at her sympathetically, trying to focus on her words and the emotions they conveyed, and not the warm tingle of comfort at her casual contact, the familiar way she seemed to be at ease being physical with him.

She thought for a moment and picked up her head. “What of your sister?” The question was direct but careful, phrased softly in case the answer brought him pain.

Gladio grinned. “She is probably just as resistant to an overprotective brother as you are. She’s based in Hammerhead, helping Cindy and Cid. Takes hunts elsewhere too. She can take care of herself, though. She _is_ an Amicitia.”

“Do you hear from her often?” The note of pride in his voice was not lost on her, and Luna smiled gently around her steaming mug of what passed for coffee these days.

He nodded. “Every couple of days.” Iris was the only one tenacious and fearless enough to force him to keep in contact, he thought with a wry smile.

“I would love to see her again.” Luna’s words made Gladio realize that he would, too.

* * *

As easily as he’d grown accustomed to life alone, he grew used to fighting by Luna’s side. Initially swayed by the thought _Noct would want me to protect her_ , Gladio soon added to pure duty and grew to appreciate Luna for herself.

Devoted, in a singular, undistracted way that he understood. Graceful, but fierce. A steely strength in her spine and a quick wit. A soothing presence, a quiet but honest opinion. A touch that was light and steady at the same time; eyes that hadn’t lost their fortitude or their glow when the sun had faded, and lips that he stared at unabashedly when he thought - hoped - she didn’t notice.

One kiss. It felt like falling into a soft, familiar, bed. Like warm sun had felt on his face, like fresh air had felt in his lungs. The way she kissed him back, he thought she felt the same way. The feel of her soft hand curved over his jaw was something Gladio knew he’d never forget.

The moment they pulled apart, though, he could see it in her eyes, and knew she shared his thought.

 _Noctis_.

They talked about it; haltingly. Noctis and Luna would have to be wed when (never “if,” never _ever_ “if,” with the two of them) Noctis returned - wouldn’t they? Was there any other way to lead Lucis? Would the Six demand it? They’d seemed to, so far.

Luna had told him, haltingly, that she and Noctis had not discussed this. Just tried to navigate the flow the best they could when the brute forces of the tides of fate swept them together; and now...

Luna just looked at him and said that the gods were silent now - had been since Noctis went into the Crystal. The sadness in her eyes made Gladio wish he could slay a hundred more red giants to make it go away.

If they were honest, there was more than just that one kiss. There were a few more. But that was all, and apart from the occasional squeeze of a hand and weighty glance, the both of them tucked it away. Deep within themselves, underneath the struggle to survive, to build a community, to hope for the future. But it never died.

* * *

“She has to be the queen, and she’s already the Oracle. But she doesn’t have to be my wife. It would hardly be fair to her, given that my heart belongs fully to someone else.”

Gladio’s head snapped around to look at Noctis fully. Apparently this was why he’d cleared the room to talk with him alone.

“I want you to be happy, Gladio. You guys went through,” he swallowed, “a lot, a whole lot while I was gone. I didn’t know that you were worried about this. You shouldn’t be.” And with that soft smile of his, his king truly brought the light back to Eos - at least as far as Gladio was concerned.

* * *

She did a skipping little dance, eyes following the sweep of her arm as her fingers grasped her skirt. Pale calves crossed, she spun, and she flicked her lashes playfully up at her husband, who stood in the doorway of their chambers. It still felt fun and new to think of himself that way, even though a few months had passed since it had become official.

Gladio leaned against the curved stone archway. “What brought this on?” Amusement and admiration teased around his lips. A simple, lighthearted tune tinkled from the radio - Luna’s love for music had returned with the sun, returned with Noctis to add to the fullness of his life. It made his heart feel like maybe there wasn’t quite room for it all sometimes, but he was happy to try.

“Just feeling happy today. Feeling like I love you.”

Strong hands wrapped around her waist, swinging her gently into the rich softness of their bed.

“What a coincidence. Was just feeling like I’d like to show you just how much I love _you_.” Gladio’s lips trailed languidly down Luna’s pale neck and to the soft swell of her chest.  She giggled breathlessly and tangled fingers into his hair eagerly, and her words were murmured softly into his ears.

“I’d do it all again to end up here with you, my love.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to [Raidelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raidelle), who helped me with writing this pairing! She writes some beautiful Gladluna and more, check her out!
> 
> The happiest of holidays to you Xy, I really hope you enjoy this.


End file.
